System and method for assigning weighted average quality value to baled plant material

ABSTRACT

A system and method for evaluating individual subunits of material incorporated into a bale and, based thereon, assigning a weighted average quality value to the overall bale. A baler receives, aggregates, compresses, shapes, and secures subunits of a plant material into a bale. An NIR testing system receives and analyzes near-infrared radiation reflected by the plant material, and generates subunit evaluation data reflecting properties of the material in the subunits. A computer receives and combines the subunit evaluation data to produce overall evaluation data reflecting properties of the bale, and assigns the overall evaluation data to the bale. Combining the subunit evaluation data includes assigning weights to the subunit evaluation data and then averaging the weighted subunit property values. Weighting may be based on the amount of time the NIR testing system is exposed to the material in each subunit, and the amount of time may be mechanically determined.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/954,776, filed Dec. 30, 2019, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to systems and methods for evaluatingmaterials in bales, and more particularly, embodiments concern a systemand method for evaluating individual subunits of plant materialincorporated into a bale and, based thereon, assigning a weightedaverage quality value to the overall bale.

BACKGROUND

A swather, or windrower, is an agricultural machine configured to cutplant material growing in a field and arrange the cut portions inwindrows on the field in a swath to dry. An example swather is theMassey Ferguson WR9980 self-propelled windrower. At the time ofswathing, the plant material may have approximately eighty-five percentmoisture content. At approximately thirty percent moisture content, arake machine may merge and turn the windrows to facilitate furtherdrying in preparation for baling. It is common to package such plantmaterial into bales for subsequent sale, transport, or other use. Abaler is an agricultural machine configured to collect the windrowed anddried plant material, compress, shape, and secure it in the form of abale. An example baler is the Massey Ferguson 2270XD square baler. Atthe time of baling, the plant material may have approximately twelve toeighteen percent moisture content.

It is known to test a sample of the plant material in order to determineproperties (e.g., protein content, fiber content, nitrate content, ashcontent, moisture content, nitrate content, ash content) that arerelevant to its sale or use value. Typically, once a number of baleshave been created, a core sample is taken from one of the bales and sentto a third-party laboratory for, e.g., near-infrared (NIR) testing orwet chemistry testing and analysis to determine these properties. In anNIR testing system, light having wavelengths between, e.g., 780 nm and2500 nm, is emitted by the instrument and at least a portion isreflected by the plant material; received, filtered, and converted to avoltage or current; and then analyzed to determine the properties of theplant material.

The accuracy of NIR testing is highly dependent on the calibrationmethods applied to the spectra, and calibration methods and results aretypically very well documented for NIR testing systems. Differentcalibration models used by different labs can be built using differentwet chemistry testing procedures and results from one lab might vary asmuch as 30% to 50% compared to another lab which significantly effectsthe value and end use of the plant material. Another problem with thisprocess is the long time required for the sample to reach thelaboratory, the testing and analysis to be performed, and the results tobe returned. Another problem is that the sample from one or even severalbales from a field may not be representative of the quality of the manyother bales from the same field. In some cases, hundreds of tons ofplant material are presented by a mere fifty grams of it in thelaboratory.

It is increasingly desirable to test bales on site, but doing sorequires associating calibration and filtering information with eachbale and otherwise meeting the specific requirements of individualcustomers. For example, many larger customers, such as large dairyoperations or other operations engaged in state, national, orinternational sales, require that testing be conducted by specificlaboratories using specific processes in order to deliver a standardizedproduct, which is not satisfied by generic calibration methods andresults.

Further, an NIR sensor component of the MR testing system is typicallymounted either in a feeding mechanism or in a compression chamber of thebaler. Due to the nature of the baling operation, the amount of time theMR sensor is exposed to a given portion of the plant material will varywith such factors as the mass of the crop; the speed of the baler;encountering areas of the field previously baled (headlands); and thesettings of the baler, such as the speed of a power take-off, the load,and a trip pressure of a stuffer. Similarly, part of the bale may bescanned as the bale exits the compression chamber, which results in amuch lower sampling rate for that portion of the bale. As the aggregatedplant material in an individual bale may not be homogenous in itsproperties, property values may be assigned to individual bales that donot reflect the actual overall quality of those bales.

Additionally, the NIR sensor component of the NIR testing system istypically positioned in the compression chamber and scans the finishedbale so as to minimize effects of the baling process which may result inlower values for the properties of interest. However, NIR sensors scanan outer surface area of approximately twenty square millimeters to adepth of approximately four millimeters, which can produce unreliableresults due to non-homogeneous particle size or otherwise poorrepresentation of the overall plant material.

This background discussion is intended to provide information related tothe present invention which is not necessarily prior art.

SUMMARY

Embodiments address the above-identified and other problems andlimitation in the prior art by providing a system and method forevaluating individual subunits of material incorporated into a bale and,based thereon, assigning a weighted average quality value to the overallbale.

In one embodiment, a system is provided evaluating individual subunitsof plant material incorporated into a bale and, based thereon, assigninga weighted average quality value to the overall bale. The system may beincorporated into a baler machine configured to receive a plurality ofsubunits of a plant material, and to aggregate, compress, shape, andsecure the plurality of subunits into a plurality of bales, and thesystem may include an MR testing system and a computer. The NIR testingsystem may be configured to receive near-infrared radiation reflected bythe plant material in at least two subunits of the plurality of subunitsof at least one bale of the plurality of bales, analyze thenear-infrared radiation, and generate subunit evaluation data reflectingone or more properties of the plant material in the at least twosubunits of the plurality of subunits. The computer may be configured toreceive and combine the subunit evaluation data of the plant material inthe at least two subunits of the plurality of subunits to produceoverall evaluation data reflecting one or more overall properties forthe at least one bale of the plurality of bales, and assign the overallevaluation data to the at least one bale of the plurality of bales.

In another embodiment, a method is provided for evaluating individualsubunits of plant material incorporated into a bale and, based thereon,assigning a weighted average quality value to the overall bale. Themethod may be employed on a baler machine configured to receive a plantmaterial and to aggregate, compress, shape, and secure the plantmaterial into a plurality of bales, and the method may include thefollowing steps. An NIR testing system may receive and analyzenear-infrared radiation reflected by the plant material in each subunitof the plurality of subunits in at least one bale of the plurality ofbales, and may generate subunit evaluation data reflecting one or moreproperties of the plant material in each subunit in the at least onebale. A computer may receive and combine the subunit evaluation data ofthe plant material in each subunit in the at least one bale to produceoverall evaluation data reflecting one or more overall property valuesfor the at least one bale, and may assign the overall evaluation data tothe at least one bale.

Various implementations of the above-described embodiments may includeany one or more of the following features. Combining the subunitevaluation data may include assigning a weight to the subunit evaluationdata of the plant material in each of the subunits to produce one ormore weighted subunit property values, and then averaging the weightedsubunit property values. The weight assigned to each subunit evaluationdata may be based at least on an amount of time the NIR testing systemis exposed to the plant material in the subunits. The amount of time theNIR testing system is exposed to the plant material in the subunits maybe determined by a mechanical mechanism which moves as the bale movesthrough the baler machine, and the movement of the mechanical mechanismmay be used to determine the amount of time. The subunit evaluation dataand the overall evaluation data may include a protein content, a fibercontent, a nitrate content, an ash content, a moisture content, and arelative feed value for the plant material in the subunits and the bale,respectively. One of every ten or fewer bales of the plurality of balesmay be subject to the NIR testing system. The NIR testing system may beassociated with calibration data, and an identifying element securementsystem may be configured to physically secure to the bale a physicalidentifying element configured to associate a unique bale identifierwith the bale, wherein the unique bale identifier is associated with thecalibration data for the NIR testing system and the overall evaluationdata for the plant material in the bale.

This summary is not intended to identify essential features of thepresent invention, and is not intended to be used to limit the scope ofthe claims. These and other aspects of the present invention aredescribed below in greater detail.

DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below withreference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an example baler machine configuredto receive loose plant material and compress, shape, and secure thematerial into a bale;

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram of an embodiment of a system forcreating and physically associating an identifying element with anindividual bale of plant material, wherein the identifying elementincludes a unique identifier and includes or can be used to findcalibration and evaluation information;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of steps in an embodiment of a method for creatingand physically associating an identifying element with an individualbale of plant material, wherein the identifying element includes aunique identifier and includes or can be used to find calibration andevaluation information;

FIG. 4 is a high-level block diagram of an embodiment of a system forevaluating individual subunits of material incorporated in a bale and,based thereon, assigning a weighted average quality value to the overallbale;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of steps in an embodiment of a method forevaluating individual subunits of material incorporated in a bale and,based thereon, assigning a weighted average quality value to the overallbale;

FIG. 6 is a high-level block diagram of an embodiment of a system forpreparing a sample area of a bale in order to more accurately evaluatethe material incorporated into the bale;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation view of a compression chambercomponent of the baler machine of FIG. 1 showing various components ofthe system of FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation view of the various components ofFIG. 7 ;

FIG. 9 is a progression of fragmentary cross-sectional isometric viewsshowing the operations of the system of FIG. 6 on the sample area of thebale; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of steps in an embodiment of a method forpreparing a sample area of a bale in order to more accurately evaluatethe material incorporated into the bale.

The figures are not intended to limit the present invention to thespecific embodiments they depict. The drawings are not necessarily toscale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of embodiments of the inventionreferences the accompanying figures. The embodiments are intended todescribe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable thosewith ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. Otherembodiments may be utilized and changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the claims. The following description is, therefore,not limiting. The scope of the present invention is defined only by theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled.

In this description, references to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features referred to are includedin at least one embodiment of the invention. Separate references to “oneembodiment,” “an embodiment,” or “embodiments” in this description donot necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are not mutuallyexclusive unless so stated. Specifically, a feature, component, action,step, etc. described in one embodiment may also be included in otherembodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus, particularimplementations of the present invention can include a variety ofcombinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an example baler machine 20 is shown into whichembodiments of the present invention may be incorporated. Although theexample baler 20 is a towed square baler, it will be appreciated thatembodiments of the present invention may be incorporated into othertypes of balers (e.g., self-propelled, round) with few or no changes.Broadly, the baler 20 may be configured to move over a field and collectpreviously cut plant material and to compress, shape, and secure thecollected plant material into a plurality of bales. The baler 20 maygenerally include a pickup assembly 22, a stuffer chute assembly 24, areciprocating plunger 26, and a baling (or compression) chamber 28.

The pickup assembly 22 may be configured to collect the cut plantmaterial from the field. In one implementation, the pickup assembly 22may include a pair of ground wheels 30 that support the pickup assembly22 as the baler 20 moves over the field. The stuffer chute assembly 24may be configured to direct the collected plant material into positionfor incorporation into a bale. In one implementation, the stuffer chuteassembly 24 may include a charge-forming duct 30 extending from an inletopening adjacent to the pickup assembly 22 to an outlet opening into thebaling chamber 28. The reciprocating plunger 26 may be configured tocompress the plant material from the charge-forming duct 30 into agrowing bale. In one implementation, the plunger 26 may be configured toreciprocate within the baling chamber 28 in repeating compression andretraction strokes across the outlet opening of the charge-forming duct30. As the plunger 26 retracts, the outlet opening is uncovered and anadditional flake, charge, or other subunit of plant material enters thebaling chamber 28, and as the plunger 26 contracts the outlet opening iscovered and the additional subunit of plant material is compressed intothe growing bale. The baling chamber 28 may be configured to shape thegrowing bale and secure the compressed plant material in the individualbale. The finished bale may be ejected rearwardly to land on the fieldbehind the baler for subsequent collection. Additionally, the baler 20may be hitched to a towing vehicle (not shown) by a tongue 32, and powerfor operating the various mechanisms (e.g., the reciprocating plunger26) of the baler 20 may be supplied by a power take-off of the towingvehicle.

Some embodiments may create and physically associate an identifyingelement containing a unique identifier with an individual bale of plantmaterial, wherein the identifying element contains or the uniqueidentifier can be used to find both calibration information for an NIRtesting system used to evaluate one or more properties of interest ofthe particular plant material into the bale and the evaluationinformation which may be provided in terms of values for the one or moreproperties of interest. By defining and physically associating thecalibration information with the unique bale identifier, a customer for,inspector of, or other entity interested in the feedstuffs or otherplant-based biomaterial incorporated into the bale can quickly andeasily view the values for the one or more properties of interest forthe individual bale, and can understand and be able to refute or acceptthese values based on how the information was processed for, e.g., aparticular region or customer.

In one implementation, the identifying element may be a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag, including a microchip and an antenna,embedded or otherwise incorporated into a twine, strap, or other bindingmaterial securing the plant material into the bale. In anotherimplementation the identifying element may take the form of a flat tagattached to the twine, strap, or other binding material. In anotherimplementation, the identifying element may take the form of a bar codeor similar technology.

In one implementation, the identifying element may contain only theunique identifier, and the unique identifier can be used to look-up orotherwise find the calibration information and the evaluationinformation in one or more databases. In another implementation, theidentifying element may contain the unique identifier and thecalibration information and/or the evaluation information. In thisimplementation, the system may include an electronic transfer mechanismconfigured to electronically write or otherwise electronically transferto the identifying element during the process of creating the bale thecalibration and/or the evaluation information.

In one implementation, the calibration information may include any oneor more of an identification of a technician who calibrated the NIRtesting system, a date on which the NIR testing system was calibrated, adate on which the current calibration expires, a treatment and filteringmethod, a calibration identifier, an intended type of plant material,and an identification of an employer of the technician, which may beAGCO Corporation or another commercial or public entity. Calibrationinformation can be generated in different ways, and in particular, thereare different ways to correlate spectral response and calibration. Inone implementation, the NIR sensor may be an AGCO sensor and thecalibration information may be generated using an AGCO calibrationstandard, while in another implementation, the MR sensor may be anon-AGCO sensor and/or the calibration information may be generatedusing a non-AGCO calibration standard.

In one implementation, the evaluation information may include any one ormore of a protein content, a fiber content, a nitrate content, an ashcontent, a moisture content, and a relative feed value (RFV) for theplant material into the bale.

Referring also to FIG. 2 , an embodiment of a system 120 is shown forcreating and physically associating an identifying element with anindividual bale of plant material, wherein the identifying elementincludes a unique identifier and includes or can be used to findcalibration and evaluation information. The system 120 is shownincorporated into an example operating environment. The system 120 maycomprise some or all of the baler machine 20, an NIR testing system 122,and an identifying element securement system 124, which may function inaccordance with the method 220 described below. As discussed, the balermachine 20 may be configured to receive plant material and to compress,shape, and secure the plant material into a plurality of bales 126. Inone implementation, the baler 20 may be otherwise substantiallyconventional in design, construction, and operation.

The MR testing system 122 may be configured to emit near-infraredradiation and receive a reflected response from the plant material inall or some (e.g., one of every five or fewer bales, or one of every tenor fewer bales) of the bales, analyze the near-infrared radiation, andgenerate evaluation information reflecting one or more properties of theplant material in each analyzed bale, and may be associated withcalibration information which is relevant to the accuracy of theevaluation information.

In one implementation, the NIR testing system 122 may include one ormore MR sensors 128 and a computer 130. The NIR sensor 128 may bemounted in or on or otherwise incorporated into the baling chamber 28 orother area of the baler 20, and may be configured to receive, filter,and convert to a voltage or current the near-infrared radiationreflected by the plant material in the bale 126, and transmit thevoltage or current to the computer 130. The computer 130 may be locatedon or remotely from the baler 20, and may be configured to receive thevoltage or current transmitted by the MR sensor 128 and analyze thevoltage or current to determine the properties of the plant material andgenerate the evaluation information reflecting those properties. Thecomputer 130 may then assign a unique identifier to the bale 126,associate the calibration information for the MR testing system 122 withthe unique identifier for the bale 126, and associate the evaluationinformation for the bale 126 with the unique identifier for the bale126. In various implementations, the unique identifier may be used tofind the calibration information for the MR testing system 122 in afirst database 132, the unique identifier may be used to find theevaluation information in a second database 134, or the calibration andthe evaluation information may be stored together in a single database.In another implementation, one or both of the calibration informationand the evaluation information may be stored on a physical identifyingelement (described below) attached to the bale 126 by the identifyingelement securement system 124.

In one implementation, the calibration information may include one ormore of an identification of a technician who calibrated the individualNIR testing system 122, a date on which the NIR testing system 122 wascalibrated, a treatment and filtering method, a calibration identifier,an intended type of plant material, and/or an identification of anemployer of the technician. In one implementation, the evaluationinformation may include one or more of a protein content, a fibercontent, nitrate content, ash content, a moisture content, and/or arelative feed value for the plant material in the bale 126.

The identifying element securement 124 system may be mounted in or on orotherwise incorporated into the baling chamber 28 of the baler 20, andconfigured to physically secure to the individual bale 126 a physicalidentifying element 136 configured to physically associate the uniquebale identifier with the bale 126, wherein, as discussed, the uniquebale identifier is associated with and may be used to find thecalibration information for the MR testing system 122 and the evaluationinformation for the plant material in the bale 126.

In one implementation, the physical identifying element 136 may be anRFID tag including an integrated circuit and an antenna embedded orotherwise incorporated into a top, front, or end center portion of abinding material 138 (e.g., twine, strap or similar material) whichsecures the bale 126. In another implementation, the physicalidentifying element 136 may take the form of a flat tag similarlyattached to the binding material 138. In one implementation, thephysical identifying element 136 already has the unique bale identifierstored thereon, and the identifying element securement mechanism 124need only secure the physical identifying element 136 to the bale 126.In another implementation, the identifying element securement mechanism124 may include an identifying element writing mechanism 140 configuredto electronically write or otherwise transfer the unique bale identifieron the identifying element 136 prior to, simultaneous with, orsubsequent to its securement to the bale 126. Further, as discussed, oneor both of the calibration and the evaluation information may be storedon a physical identifying element 136, in which case the identifyingelement writing mechanism 140 may be further configured toelectronically write or otherwise transfer one or both of thecalibration information and the evaluation information to the physicalidentifying element 136, such that this information and/or informationcan be subsequently directly read from the physical identifying element136 using, e.g., a hand-held reading device 142.

The system 120 may include additional details discussed elsewhereherein, including those discussed below in describing the operatingmethod 220.

Referring also to FIG. 3 , an embodiment of a method 220 is shown forcreating and physically associating an identifying element with anindividual bale of plant material, wherein the identifying elementincludes a unique identifier and includes or can be used to findcalibration and evaluation information. The method 220 may refer to anexample operating environment. The method 220 may comprise some or allof the following steps, which may be implemented by components of thesystem 120 described above. As discussed, plant material may be receivedand shaped and secured by a baler machine 20 into a plurality of bales126, as shown in step 222.

Near-infrared radiation emitted by an MR testing system 122 andreflected by the plant material in the bale 126 may be received,filtered, and converted to a voltage or current by an NIR sensor 128component of the NIR testing system 122, as shown in step 224, and thevoltage or current may be transmitted to a computer 130 component of theNIR testing system 122, as shown in step 226. In variousimplementations, the MR sensor 128 may be mounted in or on or otherwiseincorporated into the baling chamber 28 or other area of the baler 20,and the computer 130 may be located on or remotely from the baler 20. Invarious implementations, one of every five or fewer bales may be subjectto such testing, or one of every ten or fewer bales may be subject tosuch testing. The voltage or current transmitted by the NIR sensor 128may be received and analyzed by the computer 130 to determine theproperties of the plant material and generate evaluation informationreflecting those properties, as shown in step 228.

A unique identifier may be assigned by the computer 130 to the bale 126,as shown in step 230, and the calibration information for the NIRtesting system 122 and the evaluation information for the bale 126 maybe associated by the computer 130 with the unique identifier for thebale 126, as shown in step 232. In various implementations, the uniqueidentifier may be used to find the calibration information for the NIRtesting system 122 in a first database 132, the unique identifier may beused to find the evaluation information in a second database 134, or thecalibration information and the evaluation information may be storedtogether in a single database. In another implementation, one or both ofthe calibration information and the evaluation information may be storedon a physical identifying element (described below) attached to the bale126 by the identifying element securement system 124.

In one implementation, the calibration information may include one ormore of an identification of a technician who calibrated the individualNIR testing system 122, a date on which the NIR testing system 122 wascalibrated, a treatment and filtering method, a calibration identifier,an intended type of plant material, and/or an identification of anemployer of the technician. In one implementation, the evaluationinformation may include one or more of a protein content, a fibercontent, a moisture content, and/or a relative feed value for the plantmaterial in the bale 126.

A physical identifying element 136 physically associating the uniquebale identifier with the bale 126 may be physically secured to theindividual bale 126 by an identifying element securement system 124, asshown in step 234. The identifying element securement system 124 may bemounted in or on or otherwise incorporated into the baling chamber 28 ofthe baler 20. In one implementation, the physical identifying element136 may be a radio-frequency identification tag including an integratedcircuit and an antenna embedded or otherwise incorporated into a top,front, or end center portion of a binding material 138 (e.g., twine,strap or similar material) which secures the bale 126. In anotherimplementation, the physical identifying element 136 may take the formof a flat tag similarly attached to the binding material 138. In oneimplementation, the physical identifying element 136 already has theunique bale identifier stored thereon, and the identifying elementsecurement mechanism 124 need only secure the physical identifyingelement 136 to the bale 126.

In another implementation, the unique bale identifier may beelectronically written or otherwise transferred to the identifyingelement 136 by an identifying element writing mechanism 140, as shown instep 236, prior to, simultaneous with, or subsequent to its securementto the bale 126. Further, as discussed, one or both of the calibrationinformation and the evaluation information may be stored on a physicalidentifying element 136, in which one or both of the calibrationinformation information and the evaluation information may beelectronically written or otherwise transferred to the physicalidentifying element 136 by the identifying element writing mechanism140, as shown in step 238, such that this information and/or informationcan be subsequently directly read from the physical identifying element136 using, e.g., an identifying element reading device 142.

The method 220 may include additional details discussed elsewhereherein, including those discussed above in describing the implementedsystem 120.

Additionally or alternatively, some embodiments may evaluate individualsubunits of plant material incorporated into a bale and, based thereon,assign weighted average evaluation information to the overall bale.Under certain circumstances (e.g., during a headland turn) the NIRsensor may be exposed to a single flake, charge, or other subunit of abale for thirty seconds or more, and when the bale is exiting thechamber the NIR sensor may be exposed to the last few subunits for onlyone or two seconds. By averaging the scanned spectra and/or propertyvalues for all or some of the subunits, the results can be equallyweighted in the overall evaluation information for the bale.

For example, for crops of generally lower quality and yield, a balertraveling at a constant speed may take longer to fill itspre-compression chamber resulting in longer time periods betweensubunits. As a result, a time-based overall RFV and overall value may beone hundred twenty-two (122) and $130, while a position-based overallRFV and overall value may be one hundred fifty-five (155) and $160. Foranother example, the edges of fields often show reduced quality due toincreased equipment traffic, so RFV scores during headland turns areoften lower. As a result, a time-based overall RFV and overall value maybe one hundred forty-three (143) and $160, while a position-basedoverall RFV and overall value may be one hundred ninety-one (191) and225.

Thus, given a plurality of scanned spectra and/or property values for anindividual bale, embodiments may weight each such spectra and/or valuebased on the amount of time the NIR sensor is exposed to the respectivesubunit of the bale, and then determines and assigns average scannedspectra and/or property values to the overall bale. In a field in whichthe subunits are largely homogenous in quality, the average propertyvalues may be substantially similar to each of the plurality of values,while in a field in which the subunits are of largely differing qualityvalues, the average quality values may be significantly different fromone or more of the individual values.

Referring also to FIG. 4 , an embodiment of a system 320 is shown forevaluating individual subunits of material incorporated into a bale and,based thereon, assigning a weighted average quality value to the overallbale. The system 320 is shown incorporated into an example operatingenvironment. The system 320 may comprise some or all of the balermachine 20 and an NIR testing system 322, which may function inaccordance with the method 420 described below. As discussed, the baler20 may be configured to receive plant material and to compress, shape,and secure the plant material into a plurality of bales 326. Morespecifically, the baler 20 may be configured to receive a plurality ofsubunits 327 (also referred to as charges or flakes) of the material,and to aggregate, shape, and secure the plurality of subunits intoindividual bales 326. In one implementation, the baler 20 may beotherwise substantially conventional in design, construction, andoperation.

The MR testing system 322 may be configured to emit near-infraredradiation and receive a reflected response from the plant material ineach subunit of two or more subunits of the plurality of subunits 327and to analyze the reflected response and generate evaluationinformation reflecting one or more properties of the plant material ineach subunit of the two or more subunits. This process may be performedfor all or some of the bales (e.g., one of every five or fewer bales, orone of every ten or fewer bales).

In one implementation, the NIR testing system 322 may include one ormore MR sensors 328 and a computer 330. The NIR sensor 328 may bemounted in or on or otherwise incorporated into the baling chamber 28 orother area of the baler 20, and may be configured to receive, filter,and convert to a voltage or current the near-infrared radiation emittedby the plant material in each subunit of the two or more subunits of thebale 326, and transmit the voltage or current to the computer 330. Thecomputer 330 may be located on or remotely from the baler 20, and may beconfigured to receive the voltage or current transmitted by the MRsensor 328 and analyze the voltage or current to determine theproperties of each subunit of the two or more subunits and generate theevaluation information. The computer 330 may be further configured tocombine the evaluation information of the plant material in each subunitof the two or more subunits to produce one or more overall propertyvalues for the individual bale 326, assign the one or more overallproperty values to the individual bale 326, and save the one or moreoverall property values in a database. As discussed, combining thesubunit evaluation information may include assigning an, e.g.,time-based, position-based, or size-based weight to each such subunitevaluation information and then averaging the two or more sets ofsubunit evaluation information to arrive at the overall evaluationinformation for the bale 326. In one implementation, the evaluationinformation may include one or more of a protein content, a fibercontent, nitrate content, ash content, a moisture content, and arelative feed value for the plant material in the bale 326.

The system 320 may include additional details discussed elsewhereherein, including those discussed below in describing the operatingmethod 420.

Referring also to FIG. 5 , an embodiment of a method 420 is shown forevaluating individual subunits of material incorporated in a bale and,based thereon, assigning a weighted average quality value to the overallbale. The method 420 may refer to an example operating environment. Themethod 420 may comprise some or all of the following steps, which may beimplemented by components of the system 320 described above. Asdiscussed, a plurality of subunits 327 (also referred to as charges orflakes) of plant material may be received, aggregated, compressed,shaped, and secured by a baler machine 20 into a plurality of bales 126,as shown in step 422.

Near-infrared radiation emitted by an MR testing system 322 andreflected by the plant material in each subunit of two or more subunitsof the plurality of subunits 327 may be received, filtered, andconverted to a voltage or current by an NIR sensor 328 component of theNIR testing system 322, as shown in step 424, and the voltage or currentmay be transmitted to a computer 330 component of the NIR testing system322, as shown in step 426. In various implementations, the NIR sensor328 may be mounted in or on or otherwise incorporated into a balingchamber 28 or other area of the baler 20, and the computer 330 may belocated on or remotely from the baler 20. In various implementations,one of every five or fewer bales may be subject to such testing, or oneof every ten or fewer bales may be subject to such testing.

The voltage or current transmitted by the NIR sensor 328 may be receivedand analyzed by the computer 330 to determine the properties of theplant material and generate evaluation information reflecting one ormore properties of the plant material in each subunit of the two or moresubunits, as shown in step 428. The evaluation information of the plantmaterial in each subunit of the two or more subunits may be combined bythe computer 330 to produce one or more overall property values for thebale 326, as shown in step 430, and assign the one or more overallproperty values to the bale 326 as shown in step 432, and save the oneor more overall property values in a database. As discussed, combiningthe subunit evaluation information may include assigning a weight (e.g.,time-based, position-based, size-based) to each such subunit evaluationinformation and then averaging the two or more sets of subunitevaluation information to arrive at the overall evaluation informationfor the bale 326. In one implementation, the subunit evaluationinformation and the overall evaluation information may include one ormore of a protein content, a fiber content, a nitrate content, an ashcontent, a moisture content, and a relative feed value for the plantmaterial in the bale 326.

The method 420 may include additional details discussed elsewhereherein, including those discussed above in describing the implementedsystem 320.

Additionally or alternatively, embodiments may prepare a sample area ofa bale in order to more accurately evaluate the material incorporatedinto the bale. More specifically, embodiments may prepare a portion ofthe surface of the bale by cutting, mixing, and then re-compressing theplant material so as to present a more homogeneous and representativesample to the MR sensor. Embodiments may allow the NIR sensor to, ineffect, scan to a greater depth of approximately twenty (20)millimeters.

Referring also to FIGS. 6-8 , an embodiment of a system 520 is shown forpreparing a sample area of a bale in order to more accurately evaluatethe material incorporated into the bale. The system 520 is shownincorporated into an example operating environment. The system 520 maycomprise some or all of the baler machine 20, an NIR testing system 522,and a sample preparation mechanism 524, which may function in accordancewith the method 620 described below. As discussed, the baler machine 20may be configured to receive plant material and to compress, shape, andsecure the plant material into a plurality of bales 526. In oneimplementation, the baler 20 may be otherwise substantially conventionalin design, construction, and operation.

The MR testing system 522 may be configured to emit near-infraredradiation and receive a reflected response from the plant material inall or some (e.g., one of every five or fewer bales, or one of every tenor fewer bales) of the bales, analyze the reflected response, andgenerate evaluation information reflecting one or more properties of theplant material in each analyzed bale, and may be associated withcalibration information which is relevant to the accuracy of theevaluation information. In one implementation, the NIR testing system522 may include one or more MR sensors 528 and a computer 530. The MRsensor 528 may be mounted in or on or otherwise incorporated into thebaling chamber 28 or other area of the baler 20, and may be configuredto receive, filter, and convert to a voltage or current the reflectedresponse received from the plant material in each bale 526, and transmitthe voltage or current to the computer 530. The computer 530 may belocated on or remotely from the baler 20, and may be configured toreceive the voltage or current transmitted by the NIR sensor 528 andanalyze the voltage or current to determine the properties of each bale526 and generate the evaluation information. In one implementation, theevaluation information may include one or more of a protein content, afiber content, a nitrate content, an ash content, a moisture content,and a relative feed value for the plant material in the bale 526.

The sample preparation mechanism 524 may be configured to prepare asample area 546 of the bale 526 which is subsequently exposed to the NIRsensor 528. As such, the sample preparation mechanism 524 may be locatedahead (i.e., upstream) of the MR sensor 528 in the baling chamber 28.The sample preparation mechanism 524 may include a cutter mechanism 548,a mixer mechanism 550, and a compression mechanism 552. In variousimplementations, the cutter, mixer, and/or compression mechanisms548,550,552 may be one or more physically or functionally distinct orcombined components/functionalities. For example, the cutter mechanism548 and the mixer mechanism 550 may be two separate component or asingle component which physically or functionally combines bothmechanisms.

The cutter mechanism 548 may be configured to cut and/or grind a portionof the plant material (which consists of leaves and stems) in the samplearea 546 of the bale 526 into similarly-sized particles of the plantmaterial. In one implementation, the cutter mechanism 548 may includeone or more spring-loaded serrated knives mounted in a fixed location(with the knives being otherwise shiftable against the bias of thespring) position such that sample area 548 moves against and is cut bythe one or more spring-loaded serrated knives. In other implementations,the cutting/grinding element may be an auger, a grinder, or poweredknives configured to produce substantially the same effect. The mixermechanism 550 may be configured to mix the similarly-sized particles ofthe portion of the plant material into a homogenous aggregate of theportion of the plant material. The compression mechanism 552 may beconfigured to compress the homogenous aggregate of the portion of theplant material back into the bale 526 to provide a generally smoothsurface for the NIR sensor 528 to scan.

In one or more implementations, the cutter mechanism 548 may bepositioned in the baling chamber 28 so as to cut and/or grind a portionof the plant material in the individual bale 526 without damaging abinding material which secures the baled plant material together. Thebaling chamber 28 may include a center rail structure 554, and the mixermechanism 550 may be a relief feature on the center rail structure 554which allows the cut and/or ground plant material to expand and mix. Therelief feature may be further configured to allow any plant materialfalling from the cutter mechanism 548 to be gathered and mixed. Thecompression mechanism 552 may be a projecting feature on the center railstructure 554 which physically pushes against the surface of the bale526 to compress the homogenous aggregate of the portion of the plantmaterial so as to present a substantially flattened surface to the MRsensor 528. The NIR sensor 528 may be mounted on the center rail 554 soas to cause the sensor lens to exert a pressure against the surface ofthe bale 526. Additionally or alternatively, the MR sensor 528 may belocated on a floating assembly mounted to the center rail 554 andconfigured to allow for controlling the pressure exerted against thesurface of the bale 526.

The system 120 may include additional details discussed elsewhereherein, including those discussed below in describing the operatingmethod 220.

Referring also to FIG. 9 , an embodiment of a method 620 is shown forpreparing a sample area of a bale in order to more accurately evaluatethe material incorporated into the bale. The method 620 may refer to anexample operating environment. The method 620 may comprise some or allof the following steps, which may be implemented by components of thesystem 520 described above. As discussed, plant material may be receivedand shaped and secured by a baler machine 20 into a plurality of bales526, as shown in step 622.

A sample area on a surface of some or all of the bales 526 may beprepared by a sample preparation mechanism 524. In variousimplementations, the sample preparation mechanism 524 may be mounted inor on or otherwise incorporated into the baling chamber 28 or other areaof the baler 20. The sample preparation may include the following steps.A cutter mechanism 548 may cut and/or grind a portion of the plantmaterial in the sample area 546 of the bale 526 into similarly-sizedparticles of the plant material, as shown in step 624. In oneimplementation, the cutter mechanism 548 may include one or morespring-loaded serrated knives mounted in a fixed position such thatsample area 546 moves against and is cut by the one or morespring-loaded serrated knives. A mixer mechanism 550 may mix thesimilarly-sized particles of the portion of the plant material into ahomogenous aggregate of the portion of the plant material, as shown instep 626. A compression mechanism 552 may compress the homogenousaggregate of the portion of the plant material back into the bale 526 toprovide a generally smooth surface for an NIR sensor 528 to scan, asshown in step 630.

After the sample area 546 is prepared, near-infrared radiation isemitted and reflected by the plant material of the prepared sample area546 in the bale 526, filtered, and converted to a voltage or current bythe NIR sensor 528 component of an NIR testing system 522, as shown instep 630, and the voltage or current may be transmitted to a computer530 component of the MR testing system 422, as shown in step 632. Invarious implementations, the NIR sensor 528 may be mounted in or on orotherwise incorporated into the baling chamber 28 or other area of thebaler 20, and the computer 530 may be located on or remotely from thebaler 20. In various implementations, one of every five or fewer balesmay be subject to such preparation and testing, or one of every ten orfewer bales may be subject to such preparation and testing.

The voltage or current transmitted by the NIR sensor 528 may be receivedand analyzed by the computer 530 to determine the properties of theplant material and generate evaluation information, as shown in step634. In one implementation, the evaluation information may include oneor more of a protein content, a fiber content, nitrate content, ashcontent, a moisture content, and/or a relative feed value for the plantmaterial in the bale 526.

The method 620 may include additional details discussed elsewhereherein, including those discussed above in describing the implementedsystem 520.

It will be appreciated that two or more of the above-describedembodiments or particular details thereof may be combined as need ordesired. For example, the embodiment in which individual subunits of abale are tested and the results combined to create more accurate overallevaluation information for the bale may be combined with the embodimentin which an individual bale is tagged, to result in an embodiment inwhich the identifying element contains or the unique identifier can beused to find the more accurate overall evaluation information.

Although the invention has been described with reference to the one ormore embodiments illustrated in the figures, it is understood thatequivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.

Having thus described one or more embodiments of the invention, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:

1. A system incorporated into a baler machine configured to receive aplurality of subunits of a plant material, and to aggregate, compress,shape, and secure the plurality of subunits into a plurality of bales,the system comprising: a near-infrared testing system configured toreceive near-infrared radiation reflected by the plant material in atleast two subunits of the plurality of subunits of at least one bale ofthe plurality of bales and to analyze the near-infrared radiation andgenerate subunit evaluation data reflecting one or more properties ofthe plant material in the at least two subunits of the plurality ofsubunits; and a computer configured to receive and combine the subunitevaluation data of the plant material in the at least two subunits ofthe plurality of subunits to produce overall evaluation data reflectingone or more overall properties for the at least one bale of theplurality of bales, and assign the overall evaluation data to the atleast one bale of the plurality of bales.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein combining the subunit evaluation data includes assigning aweight to the subunit evaluation data of the plant material in each ofthe at least two subunits of the plurality of subunits to produce one ormore weighted subunit property values of the plant material in the atleast two subunits of the plurality of subunits, and then averaging theone or more weighted subunit property values of the plant material inthe at least two subunits of the plurality of subunits in the at leastone bale of the plurality of bales.
 3. The system of claim 2, whereinthe weight assigned to each subunit evaluation data of the plantmaterial in the at least two subunits of the plurality of subunits isbased at least on an amount of time the near-infrared testing system isexposed to the plant material in the at least two subunits of theplurality of subunits.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the amount oftime the near-infrared testing system is exposed to the plant materialin the at least two subunits of the plurality of subunits is determinedby a mechanical mechanism which moves as the at least one bale of theplurality of bales moves through the baler machine, and the movement ofthe mechanical mechanism is used to determine the amount of time.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the overall evaluation data is selected fromthe group consisting of: a protein content, a fiber content, a nitratecontent, an ash content,a moisture content, and a relative feed valuefor the plant material in the at least one bale of the plurality ofbales.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the subunit evaluation data isselected from the group consisting of a protein content, a fibercontent, a nitrate content, an ash content, a moisture content, and arelative feed value for the plant material in each subunit of the atleast two subunits of the plurality of subunits.
 7. The system of claim1, wherein one of every ten or fewer bales of the plurality of bales issubject to the near-infrared testing system.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the near-infrared testing system is associated with calibrationdata, and the system further includes an identifying element securementsystem configured to physically secure to the at least one bale of theplurality of bales a physical identifying element configured toassociate a unique bale identifier with the at least one bale of theplurality of bales, wherein the unique bale identifier is associatedwith the calibration data for the near-infrared testing system and theoverall evaluation data for the plant material in the at least one baleof the plurality of bales.
 9. A system comprising: a baler machineconfigured to receive a plurality of subunits of a plant material, andto aggregate, compress, shape, and secure the plurality of subunits intoa plurality of bales; a near-infrared testing system configured toreceive near-infrared radiation reflected by the plant material in eachsubunit of the plurality of subunits in at least one bale of theplurality of bales and to analyze the near-infrared radiation andgenerate subunit evaluation data reflecting one or more properties ofthe plant material in each subunit of the plurality of subunits; and acomputer configured to receive and combine the subunit evaluation dataof the plant material in each subunit of the plurality of subunits toproduce overall evaluation data reflecting one or more overall propertyvalues for the at least one bale of the plurality of bales, and assignthe overall evaluation data to the at least one bale of the plurality ofbales.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein combining the subunitevaluation data includes assigning a weight to the subunit evaluationdata of the plant material in each subunit of the plurality of subunitsto produce a plurality of weighted subunit property values of the plantmaterial in each subunit of the plurality of subunits, and thenaveraging the plurality of weighted subunit property values of the plantmaterial in each subunit of the plurality of subunit in the at least onebale of the plurality of bales.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein theweight assigned to each subunit evaluation data of the plant material ineach subunit of the plurality of subunits is based at least on an amountof time the near-infrared testing system is exposed to the plantmaterial in each subunit of the plurality of subunits.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the amount of time the near-infrared testing system isexposed to the plant material in each subunit of the plurality ofsubunits is determined by a mechanical mechanism which moves as the atleast one bale of the plurality of bales moves through the balermachine, and the movement of the mechanical mechanism is used todetermine the amount of time.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein thesubunit evaluation data is selected from the group consisting of: aprotein content, a fiber content, a nitrate content, an ash content, amoisture content, and a relative feed value for the plant material ineach subunit of the plurality of subunits.
 14. The system of claim 9,wherein each subunit of the plurality of subunits is subject to the nearinfrared testing system.
 15. The system of claim 9, wherein one of everyten or fewer bales of the plurality of bales is subject to thenear-infrared testing system.
 16. The system of claim 9, wherein thenear-infrared testing system is associated with calibration data, andthe system further includes a tag securement system configured tophysically secure to the at least one bale of the plurality of bales aphysical tag configured to associate a unique bale identifier with theat least one bale of the plurality of bales, wherein the unique baleidentifier is associated with the calibration data for the near-infraredtesting system and the overall evaluation data for the plant material inthe at least one bale of the plurality of bales.
 17. A methodcomprising: receiving, aggregating, shaping, and securing with a balermachine a plurality of subunits of a plant material into a plurality ofbales; receiving and analyzing with a near-infrared testing systemnear-infrared radiation reflected by the plant material in each subunitof the plurality of subunits in at least one bale of the plurality ofbales, and generating subunit evaluation data reflecting one or moreproperties of the plant material in each subunit of the plurality ofsubunits in the at least one bale of the plurality bales; receiving andcombining with a computer the subunit evaluation data of the plantmaterial in each subunit of the plurality of subunits in the at leastone bale of the plurality of bales to produce overall evaluation datareflecting one or more overall property values for the at least one baleof the plurality of bales; and assigning with the computer the overallevaluation data to the at least one bale of the plurality of bales. 18.The system of claim 17, wherein combining the subunit evaluation dataincludes assigning a weight to the subunit evaluation data of the plantmaterial in each subunit of the plurality of subunits to produce aplurality of weighted subunit property values of the plant material ineach subunit of the plurality of subunits, and then averaging theplurality of weighted subunit property values of the plant material ineach subunit of the plurality of subunit in the at least one bale of theplurality of bales.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the weightassigned to each subunit evaluation data of the plant material in eachsubunit of the plurality of subunits is based at least on an amount oftime the near-infrared testing system is exposed to the plant materialin each subunit of the plurality of subunits.
 20. The system of claim17, wherein the near-infrared testing system is associated withcalibration data, and the method further includes physically securingwith an identifying element securement system to the at least one baleof the plurality of bales a physical identifying element configured toassociate a unique bale identifier with the at least one bale of theplurality of bales, wherein the unique bale identifier is associatedwith the calibration data for the near-infrared testing system and theoverall evaluation data for the plant material in the at least one baleof the plurality of bales.